Hi. We are going to Portugal in June. We initially planned to combine it with Morocco, but we have changed our minds. We spent two weeks in Spain a couple of years ago, so we are looking for something different. However, is the Basque Country area, Bilbao, or Pamplona worth adding in? How about the Bordeaux region of France? Thank you in advance for any suggestions. We will have about six days after Portugal.
TIA!
Posted by
Canada 1st, not 51st.
4773 posts
We spent 10 days in Portugal in September then flew to Bordeaux and drove to the Dordogne region. Here's that Trip Report if you're interested.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Allan, thank you for the info. It's a great start for sure. We will be going to Lisbon, to the Algarve, Evora, Coimbra, Duoro Valley, and Porto. We are looking to extend afterwards. I will take a closer look at what you shared and see if I can build our itinerary from there. The Dordogne sounds amazing. We've not been there, so I'm eager to check it out. Thanks for the info!
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5542 posts
From Porto and Lisbon you can fly to anywhere in Europe.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
21236 posts
I am with Emily on this one. 90 min on a plane isnt much different than a 4 or 5 hour train ride. With discount airlines the cost isnt a whole lot different. The hard, expensive, long part was crossing the Atlantic. So, now, do you stay "close" and settle with what is there or do you go to a dream location?
Go to googleflights, put in Porto or Lisbon TO: Europe / non-stop / under $150 see what pops up
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
1706 posts
Tenerife or the Canaries.
Posted by
Pleasant Hill, Ca
272 posts
We flew to London for a fun 6 days.
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
903 posts
"Is the Basque Country area, Bilbao, or Pamplona worth adding?"
Absolutely 100% YES! There are flights from Lisboa or Porto direct to Bilbao and bus service in the Basque region
is very good. Pamplona is a wonderful city (RS guide Francisco Glaria lives there) and San Sebastian is truly beautiful (RS guides Agustin Ciriza and James Scanlan live there). The Basque country is a unique region - the locals consider it a "country" unrelated to either Spain or France.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Thank you for all the great ideas. I have a lot of options to look into--Basque Country, Bordeaux, Canaries, or other parts of Europe. Thank you for taking the time to share your input!
Thank you Mr. E and Emily for the insight--go anywhere as it's not that far once you're in Europe. That helps, too!
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
21236 posts
My best trips were one place that was on a bucket list from stories or books or movies or just my childhood. That was the long stay … maybe 10 to 14 days. London, Paris, Rome, Athens were included in those trips.
But I added a short stay to each long stop trip. Generally in a place that made me a bit uncomfortable because it wasn’t a place that American tourists bragged about having gone to. I did at least a dozen trips that way. I had one turkey, and many were magnificent and quite a few I ended up returning with them being the long stay with someplace else the discovery stop. Among the best short stops that led to longer stays and a greater exploration of the country were the Black Sea Coast of Bulgaria, Kyiv, the coast of Montenegro and Sarajevo. Hmmmm a trend evolving here.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Mr E--I love that idea! Adds a little more adventure in for the current and future trips! Thank you for sharing!
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
21236 posts
Just the old RS backdoor concept.